Impeachment Manager Predicts GOP Will Win Election

Arlington, Va (CNSNews.com)- Representative Lindsey Graham (R-SC), a member of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the 13 House impeachment managers during President Clinton's trial last year, predicts Republicans will do well in this year's elections.

Speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington Saturday, Graham said, "the reflections of this impeachment manager are, by being willing to lose last year, by not for living the political moment, we're going to kick their butt in 2000." Graham's remark received a long ovation from the crowd.

Graham, reflecting on Clinton's impeachment one year later, said he believes Republicans passed the character test while Democrats failed it miserably and continue to suffer for that failure today.

"Not one member of the cabinet resigned after having been lied to by the president. Not one member of the Senate found the President's behavior of lying under oath, getting your friends to lie for you, hiding the evidence under your secretary's bed, lying about the chief witness against you, making her, the perpetrator and you the victim, not one member of the Democratic Senators thought that was inconsistent with being president, and only one member of the Democratic House asked the President to resign, Paul McHale (D-PA).You know what they tried to do to him (McHale), they tried to question his military service, isn't that kind of odd?," Graham said.

Graham explained how Clinton's impeachment has affected him and the Democratic Party.

"A year later, you cannot get a Democrat in the same room with Bill Clinton who wants to move up in the world. Bill Bradley is running against Clinton and Al Gore is running away from him and that's no accident. When you ask Americans what are they going to consider when they vote for a new president, the number one issue is character. If we had buried this thing last year, if we had dumped our Constitutional duty and not had a trial explaining what the president did, that would not be the case today," Graham said.

If Gore hadn't defended Clinton during impeachment, Graham believes this year he would have been a difficult candidate to beat.

"Al Gore tried to tell you he feels your pain. But he didn't feel our pain when it mattered. He could have been a very difficult candidate to beat if last year he would have stood up and said, "I'm very disappointed in Bill Clinton, the man." Impeachment is a bridge too far and Mr. President you let us down. That would have changed peoples opinion forever of Al Gore. He took the road most frequently traveled in Washington. Much to his surprise, it's a dead end," Graham said.